Resistance to Israel’s deportations of 38,000 African asylum seekers comes to London

Resistance to Israel’s deportations of 38,000 African asylum seekers comes to London

Posted by Martin Plaut245sc on February 05, 2018

On Wednesday (7th February) Jewish activists and African groups will come together in London to protest against Israel’s deportation of thousands of refugees. The demonstration will take place outside the Rwandan embassy – one of the countries named as taking the asylum seekers. [https://www.facebook.com/events/1548082038602982/]

On Sunday the Israeli government began issuing deportation notices to the Eritreans and Sudanese on Sunday. [https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-begins-handing-out-deportation-notices-to-african-migrants/] They are being told to leave Israel within two months, or face incarceration. Migrants who agree to exit Israel by the end of March will receive $3,500 and a plane ticket. Forced deportations could possibly be carried out next.

A growing movement

The Israeli left has been joined by Jews around the world to fight against the deportations of the asylum seekers. This has gradually grown in strength.

Dec. 11 – A webinar was organized by Elliot Glassenberg, a Canadian-Israeli who has been trying to organize the North American Jewish community for several years through an American organization called Right Now . At this point it was a fringe movement, both in Israel and the U.S.

Dec. 13 – Hundreds of American Jews sign this letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu. Here is the text of the letter, which you can still sign. It names some of the signatories, which include many of JLM’s partner organisations in America.

Jan. 2 – The Israeli government formalized its expulsion order. Within a day it was all over the international news.

Jan. 15 – The Anti-Defamation League wrote an open letter to the Israeli government, expressing its “grave concerns over a reported Israeli government plan to deport tens of thousands of African asylum seekers from Israel, either by coercion or force.”